Source
r/sterileprocessing•
messmaker523

HSPA certification question

I have been working in SPD for a while now and am finally planning to get certified soon. I have the 8th edition IAHCSMM workbook and Text. I have taken the quizzes and tests from the workbook and scored very well. While reading the text I'm noticing there's a lot of information in there that doesn't show up in the work book tests. The HSPA guide book says the 8th edition IAHCSMM books are the acceptable study guides for the exam. My question is... Do the tests and quizzes from the workbook line up fairly directly with the HSPA exam or is all the information from the text possibly going to be on the HSPA exam. Thanks

Posted Aug 30, 2023, 8:35 PM UTC

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KronksLeftBicep•

IIRC, they line up fairly evenly-they won’t be the exact same questions, but will be the same format and cover the same concepts & topics. My two pieces of advice to anybody taking the test is to know why we do our processes the way we do, and to pay special attention to the topics covered in the text that you don’t do on a daily basis. For example, at my facility, SPD only processes instruments, we don’t pull case carts or distribute supplies, so I made sure to spend extra time understanding those procedures as well.

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messmaker523OP•

Ahh thanks for the heads up. I just noticed the text goes into anatomy and organ systems while the workbook barely scratches the surface on that stuff. Lucky(I guess) at my surgery center I pull all the case carts and update preference cards.🤣

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KronksLeftBicep•

There were a few broad questions regarding anatomy, like “which of these is not an organ?” type of very basic stuff. I had more medical terminology on mine than anatomy, but still nothing that isn’t covered in the text.

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chad_stanley_again•

The question that I remember was about corrugated boxes and where they are allowed to be

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Professional-Lie3756•

I’m pretty sure there is a guideline on the HSPA website that tells you the exact percentages of each section that will be on the test. You can cut out whole chapters if I remember correctly. I took the Purdue course and worked in spd for about a year and passed easy. I feel like if you have experience you’ll do fine!

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messmaker523OP•

Took a little digging to find it but I found the outline on their site. Thanks!

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